Large, solid propellant, rocket motors must be stored for decades and yet function with full effectiveness. To ensure this effectiveness, samples of the propellant are taken regularly from substantially complete serviceable or specimen motors for testing to determine if the propellant has remained stable. The propellants of interest are elastomers which are very tough and elastic so as to retain their shape and function despite shocks in transportation and the intense vibrations and thermal stresses that occur following ignition. The propellant is, typically, a single large “grain” cast within a generally cylindrical casing.
Because of the mechanical properties of these elastomeric propellants, the large size of the motors and samples, the inaccessibility of the propellant within the casing, and the dangers of ignition or detonation involved in cutting energetic materials, the prior art has no completely satisfactory method or device for obtaining the necessary samples.